29 April 2019
- UKTV's adult SOCI (share of commercial impacts) has grown by 3%, and for 16-34s it has grown by 6%
- Gold (+29%), Alibi (+13%), Yesterday (+22%) and Home (+25%) have all seen significant year-on-year 16-34 share increases
- In Q1, UKTV had three of the top four non-PSB channels in Britain (Drama, Dave and Yesterday)*
- UKTV achieved over a 6% share on six consecutive days in April - the first time in the network's history
- UKTV Original, Hypothetical, launched with 1.2 million viewers and is the most popular show on the network year-to-date
- UKTV Play views up 41% year-on-year and episode one of Hypothetical was the most watched show on the service
UKTV's share of commercial impacts
Award-winning multi channel network, UKTV, has enjoyed an impressive start to 2019. Year-to-date UKTV's adult SOCI (share of commercial impacts) is 9.53%, up 3% year-on-year. In addition, the network has seen strong growth in 16-34 SOCI, which is up 6% year-on-year to 6.74%.
UKTV Originals and channels
Brand new UKTV Original panel show, Hypothetical, featuring James Acaster and Josh Widdicombe, launched on Dave in Q1 with 1.2 million viewers tuning into its debut episode, making it the network's most popular show of 2019 to date.
The top five Q1 shows on W were made up of UKTV Originals and exclusive acquisitions (MasterChef USA, Flack, Inside the Ambulance, The Shift: Women on the Force and 999 Rescue Squad) with brand new UKTV Original scripted drama, Flack, starring Oscar-winner Anna Paquin, attracting 620k viewers to its opening episode.
On Yesterday, now the fourth biggest non-PSB channel in the UK (SOCI), new UKTV Original, Bangers and Cash, also made a strong debut (18 April). The new series, which follows the Matthewsons, a family dynasty of classic car auctioneers who uncover rare classics, kick started the Easter weekend peaking with 509k viewers and has contributed to Yesterday's success, with adult share up 11% year-on-year and 16-34 share up 22%.
Really delivered its best Q1 on record, up 5% year-on-year, and UKTV Original Sarah Beeny's Renovate Don't Relocate, became the channel's best performing property title with episode one launching to an audience of 478k.
In addition to Yesterday, Gold (+29%), Alibi (+13%) and Home (+25%) have all seen year-on-year 16-34 share increases, while Drama has seen its adult share improve by 11%.
UKTV Play
UKTV Play, the network's popular on demand service, has seen a 41% increase in views year-on-year, and now has over 2.3 million registered users. UKTV Originals were the most popular shows on the service, with the first episode of new commission Hypothetical, taking the top performing slot in Q1.
Since the start of the year, UKTV Play has launched a new generation app featuring increased personalisation, and live streaming has been made available on the UKTV Play website, enabling viewers to watch Dave, Drama, Yesterday, Really and Home live. The channel streams will be also be available on UKTV Play's mobile and TV apps in the coming months.
Easter
Drama achieved a share of 1.58% over the Easter bank holiday, up 29% year-on-year. The channel's success was powered by a raft of titles, including the free-to-air premiere of UKTV Original Death on the Tyne, which was watched by 328k viewers (live + VOSDAL), representing a 2.8% share and up 157% on slot. This was despite the hot bank holiday weather bringing Total TV down by 23% over the Easter period, versus last year.
Really also recorded a record-breaking Easter with a 0.72% percent share, up 1% on Easter 2018 which was its previous best. And the UKTV network achieved a 6% share on six consecutive days over the Easter period (17-22 April), marking the first time in the broadcaster's history that it has achieved this feat. In addition, Good Friday was UKTV's best Good Friday on record, with a 6.5% share.
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Stats Measurement
Source: Techedge (YoY 1st Jan-15th April unless otherwise stated).
All data BARB Adults 16+ except programme data which is individuals.
*Channel non-PSB ranking measured on SOCI - based on all adults, all platforms for Q1 2019.
Programme viewing stats are all Total Consumption unless otherwise stated. Total Consumption is the measurement of all viewing to a single premiere linear transmission of a show. It encompasses the overnight, PVR, VOD, D2C and paid, narrative repeats within seven days of the broadcast window, and the 8-28 day PVR viewing within BARB.
UKTV Play growth figure and top rating episode is for the direct to consumer service.
For more information please contact:
Kerry Goode, Head of Network Communications, UKTV
Ali Laurie, Network Communications Executive,
UKTV
About UKTV
UKTV is a commercial broadcaster reaching nearly 40m viewers every month.
The award-winning independent has eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, W, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food. These include the two most popular non-PSB channels in the UK and account for nearly 10% of the British commercial TV market.
The network delivers inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView, Freesat, Amazon Fire and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.
Now celebrating over 20 years at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Studios and Discovery, Inc. - is proud to be the first British television broadcaster in The Sunday Times top 100 companies list.